


Personal Records

by Raloire



Series: Deranged Ramblings of a Lunatic [1]
Category: Call of Cthulhu (Roleplaying Game), Dick Hardy's Investigators Office, Original Work
Genre: A Recap and Interpretation of Canon Events, Canon Compliant, Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Journal Entries, On Hiatus until 2021, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Partial First POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23949955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raloire/pseuds/Raloire
Summary: A series of entries from one Morgan O'Connell's journal, covering his encounters with the strange and unusual.
Series: Deranged Ramblings of a Lunatic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989679
Comments: 14
Kudos: 6
Collections: Dick Hardy's Investigators Office





	1. 09/08/21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will be covering the events of the game from Morgan's perspective! I'll be uploading the story in chunks per every case and interlude, hence the six chapter start.
> 
> This Case will no doubt have been the easiest one to write, considering it's the only case I did recap notes in character for.

09/08/21

As of today I am officially working as a part-time private investigator. I arrived at Dick Hardy’s Investigators Office this morning to apply for the job and the man barely looked at my resume before setting myself and the others who’d arrived to work. 

We were tasked to investigate one of our client’s properties as he’d been unable to rent it out for a few years now and he claimed that there were several reports of strange noises coming from within the house’s walls. He thought it was a ghost! If you can believe such a thing. 

My colleagues and I collected evidence from the Police Station, Records Office, the Library and the Daily Mail. After which our employer took us to Central London’s Sanitorium but not before backing his car into that of one of the reporter’s from the Daily Mail. I believe the man’s name was Artie? Either way he was understandably furious and Mr. Hardy placated him by assuring the man that he would repay the damages. Hopefully that’s not coming out of _our_ pay. 

(On that note, remind me not to get into his car if there’s an alternative. He’s a terrible driver.) 

Using the evidence we collected I have compiled timelines on both the property and The Chapel of Contemplation.

The Chapel of Contemplation… where to even begin?

The Chapel of Contemplation (of Our Lord Granter of Secrets) was a cult that abducted many local children until 1912 when their church was raided by the police. The fates of these missing children were never publicly declared. 

What their actual beliefs are is a mystery but currently 45 of their members are in prison following the raid of 1912. 

That leaves Father Michael Thomas and eight (illegally?) exonerated members on the loose. Free to set their Chapel back up, out of sight from the laws’ keen eyes. Something they’ve had plenty of time to do since Thomas’s escape from prison four years ago. 

Our team of investigators inspected the remains of the Chapel and found the building to be empty and in a state of complete disrepair. In a strangely fortunate twist of events the floor caved in under us upon entering the building, allowing us to explore the room below. It had been clearly overlooked during the police raid as the entrances to that room had caved in, most likely due to the fire. 

Inside we discovered two corpses, members of the church’s congregation who appear to have also perished in the fire. Perhaps they’d hidden in the basement when the raid began and gotten trapped inside after the fire started or perhaps they were trying to preserve the documents below, either way I suppose we’ll never know exactly what they were doing there. 

The documents we uncovered confirmed that Walter Corbitt, the previous owner of the property our team was hired to inspect, was a member of this cult. 

This news has some unfortunate implications for fates of those missing children. Implications I’d rather not think about and yet, when faced with his research… the very idea that a single member of this organisation roams free is unacceptable. 

But I am getting ahead of myself. 

The house has a dark history. A series of accidents and illnesses afflicting its tenants for decades.

I thought, before we entered the house, that Michael Thomas may have fled there after his escape from prison. That we were possibly going to encounter a serial killer once we crossed over the threshold. But the truth of the matter was far stranger than I could have ever imagined. 

Our group split up before we even entered the building; the house was seemingly empty and small enough that if any of us started yelling the others were sure to hear it. 

I found Walter Corbitt’s journals. They contain his research in detail. He experimented on rats and children and the diagrams in these books… it’s grotesque ~~it’s… it’s....~~

Corbitt’s third journal was different. Frankly, it’s near incomprehensible. It’s full of strange symbols and his handwriting is a mess, save for the entry titled “Call Forth the Opener of Ways”. I’ve haven’t read the whole thing yet, it’s bulky enough that that could take weeks to study and I’d rather not waste my time on the rambling nonsense of a madman. 

While I was reading, Mr. Blade ran downstairs in a fright. Both he and Ms. Carmen insisted that the house was haunted and that we all needed to evacuate the premises immediately. Fortunately, I convinced them to stay so that we could finish the job before the end of the day but I was unable to alleviate them of their fears of whatever apparitions they believed to be lurking the halls. They were less than happy about it but agreed to continue so long as we proceeded from there on as a group and so we returned upstairs to finish inspecting the upper floor. 

And then a bed threw itself at us. 

I am not sure how else to describe it. Although I’m sure there must be an explanation. One moment I was speaking with my colleagues and the next Mr. Blade was pinned up against the wall after the bed, that had been on the other side of the room, mind you, collided with him. 

After a bit of panic I was not willing to give up on the job just yet, we only had the basement left to inspect. Although in hindsight, I fear that I may not have been so fortunate to walk out of that building alive if my colleagues had decided to leave without me. 

Because once we entered that basement a knife attacked us. 

Just a knife. 

It sounds like madness, writing it down on paper but I know what I saw. 

It hovered in air and made sharp, janky movements as it swung forward on its own. Using our wits we managed to embed the blade into the wall, where it got stuck and no longer posed a threat to us. 

The building was full of rats and the basement was no different but what was more interesting to us at the time was the crevice they were crawling in through. It became apparent that there was a second room in the basement that had been boarded up in an attempt to hide it. We pried it open and discovered Corbitt’s grave. 

The room appeared to have been a study of sorts. “Chapel of Contemplation” was carved into the wall by the exit and there were papers scattered across a desk, detailing some type of horoscope. We had little time to be thorough in our investigation though as someone, I did not see who, opened the wooden casket and touched the body. 

There was no ghost in that house but it was haunted by the corpse of Walter Corbitt. 

It, and I can’t even call it a he, lunged forth from the casket and grabbed Mr. Blade’s throat, knocking him unconscious almost immediately. 

The rest of the events are a little bit a blur, it feels like the altercation was over in a matter of seconds. The pale figure swiped at Ms. Finks while she readied her gun but thankfully did not hit her and I did the only thing I could think to do at the time and baited it into attacking me instead, by ripping the corner of Corbitt’s research and blowing my whistle loud enough that Mr. Hardy heard it outside. 

Enraged it charged at me, giving Ms. Finks the perfect shot of its head. But the bullet didn’t do a thing. She didn’t miss, it’s as if it hit a wall before making contact with the creature’s skin. 

Just what was that thing? I’ve been wracking my brain all evening thinking about it. I must do some more research in the library tomorrow. 

Thankfully, Ms. Carmen managed to kill it for good. During the initial panic she had bolted out of the room and returned to stab it with it’s own knife. I’m not sure whether she knew that would work or if she simply didn’t have a weapon with her at the time but Walter Corbitt’s corpse burst into ash. 

We tried to tell Mr. Hardy about what had happened but I don’t blame him for not believing us. Especially since I all but screamed “Ghosts!” when he asked what was going on, before feverishly showing him the journals. Not my proudest moment but I was covered in a dead man’s ashes at the time. 

I hadn't really considered how loud my whistle was until we were exiting the building and saw that we'd drawn the attention of a few of the neighbours and a nearby police officer. Luckily for us there were rats streaming out of every exit in a hurry as though they too couldn't stand being in that house for a moment longer and that was enough to explain the panic once we explained what we were doing there. 

And well, if Mr. Duly's reputation suffers because _someone_ let it slip that it was him who got the Macario’s institutionalised, that's no skin off my back. 

At the very least the job is done. Mr. Hardy and Ms. Carmen took Mr. Blade to hospital whilst Ms. Finks and I fed our client a bunch of half truths in our damage report of the building. 

My employer’s neighbour’s cat, Garth, followed me around all day today. It was initially the highlight of the whole experience but then said neighbour decided to entrust the cat to me as it’s new carer as she’s apparently sick of the poor thing. My landlady does not allow for animals in the building but I had no choice but to sneak him in this evening. I don’t even have any pet food. 

For now, he seems content but I will be looking for a suitable home for him in the morning. Despite whatever impression that woman may have gotten from me, for knowing me a grand total of two minutes, I doubt that I am in any way a suitable carer for this creature. 

And now, excluding the cat, I am left alone with my thoughts. 

I am left looking at these atrocious records that Corbitt was depraved enough to call research and the knowledge that he was not alone in this. 

I have had a somewhat stressful day, but I do intend to do something with the evidence I have collected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags will be updated as the story progresses; on that note if you think I've missed a tag or spot any typos or the like please let me know! 
> 
> I ended up filling in a few details from memory so if anything sounds off, that's probably why. That said, I'm up for going back and fixing any mistakes.


	2. Case 210908: Copy of Official Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

**Dick Hardy’s Investigators Office**

09/08/21

**EMPLOYER:** Dick Hardy 

**CLIENT:** Mr Knott

**STAFF:** Morgan O’Connell, Josie Finks, Geralt Edgeblade, Carmen [Unknown] 

_Request:_ Client has requested an official investigation into his property, _The Corbitt House_ , for any squatters or wild animals loose in the building. He has been unable to rent the property since the previous tenants left. There have been multiple reports of strange noises coming from inside, which the Client believes to be paranormal in origin. 

If our team is to encounter an animal or squatter that proves to be violent it has been recommended that our staff leave the premises and inform the Client of what they have learnt; so that he may contact pest control or the proper authorities. 

_Report Summary:_

  * The waterworks on the Upper Floor have rusted and the leaking has caused mould. 
  * There is evidence that there have been squatters in the building. Furniture has been moved, a door on the Upper Floor is damaged and there is quite a bit of damage in the Basement. 
  * The stairs to the Basement are broken, there are scratches and holes along the walls and the boards covering up the second room on that floor have been removed. 
  * Within this second room our team found an unregistered grave that appears to be the source of the house's rat infestation. We have reason to believe that this grave belongs to the previous owner of the property, Walter Corbitt, which explains the words “Church of Contemplation” engraved into the room’s wall. As this was the name of the church he attended whilst alive. Said church has disbanded within the last decade. 



Thus concludes our evaluation of the property.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it was hardly as if we could _tell_ Mr. Knott the truth of the matter and still expect him to pay us.


	3. Case 210908: Property Timeline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

**Corbitt House Timeline**

**_1835:_ ** A merchant built the house but fell ill and sold it to Mr. Walter Corbitt esquire. 

**_1852:_ ** Walter Corbitt is sued by neighbours for antisocial behaviour. 

**_1866:_ ** Walter Corbitt’s obituary is issued. A second lawsuit was being waged to prevent Corbitt from being buried in his basement as requested in his will. 

  * No outcome was recorded for the second lawsuit. 


  * Can now confirm through Church of Contemplation documents that Mr. Corbitt was buried in said basement by the executor of his will, Father Michael Thomas.



**_1880:_** A family of French immigrants moved in but a series of violent accidents left the parents dead and the children crippled.

**_1909:_** Another family moved in. Fell prey to an unspecified illness. 

**_1914:_ **The oldest brother commits suicide with a kitchen knife. The family moves out. 

**_1918:_ ** The Macarios move in. They leave within the same year after they all become ill at the same time. 

  * More specifically, after their neighbour Mr. Duly reports them to the authorities. The parents were escorted to the local Sanitorium and their children now live with their maternal Aunt and Uncle. 



**_1921:_ ** The Landlord, Mr.Knott hires private investigators to evaluate the property. 


	4. Case 210908: Chapel of Contemplation Timeline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

**Chapel of Contemplation Timeline**

**_????:_ ** Walter Corbitt’s journals indicate that he oversaw several experiments on both rats and children. 

**_1866:_ ** Father Michael Thomas was the executor of Corbitt’s Will and buried him in his basement, as per his request. 

**_????:_ ** The Church was responsible for kidnapping many local children. 

  * Most likely continuing Corbitt’s work. 



**_1912:_ **Police raided the Chapel.

  * Official reports claim that 3 Police officers and 17 cult members died. Their autopsy reports were lacking in detail and were uninformative in a way that indicates that the coroner did not perform examinations on the bodies. 
  * 54 cult members were arrested.
  * 8 were then released with hints of illegal intervention.
  * Father Michael Thomas was sentenced to 40 years in prison for Second-Degree Murder. 
  * Church closure confirmed.



**_1917:_ ** Michael Thomas escapes prison. 

**_1918:_ ** The Macario family attended the Chapel of Contemplation. Despite its legal closure six years prior. 

**_1921:_ ** Our team investigated the building and found it in disrepair. The floor caved in and further investigation confirms that 19 cult members died in 1912 instead of the official 17, as two bodies were found beneath the Chapel. 

  * Reviewing the Documents found there confirmed that Walter Corbitt was a member of this Church. 
  * Found Multiple items: a ‘tome’, which Ms. Finks has taken into her possession. One of Walter Corbitt’s journals and multiple church records. 
  * Found multiple journals belonging to Walter Corbitt detailing his experiments for the Church of Contemplation. 




	5. Case 210908: Additional Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

_Photograph of Strange Graffiti_

My colleague, Edge “Geralt” Blade, found a strange symbol graffitied in the men’s bathroom at the Daily Mail earlier today. 

It appears to be unrelated to our investigation, simply an odd doodle from someone in the office. However, it disturbed my colleague deeply, as he claims that the stall door was locked when he entered and then opened by itself whilst cleaning his face. 

While it’s clear that this matter troubles him even now I suspect it’s simply the stress getting to him. Unfortunately, we had a messy encounter with a rat on our way into the building.

Still, to placate him and keep him focused on our investigation I took a photo of the symbol ~~and I’ll attach it to this file once it’s developed.~~

_Update:_ The exact same graffiti was painted outside the Chapel of Contemplation and further research conducted inside the building found it to be a sigil called _“A Burning Eye.”_

I have decided instead to draw a copy of it for the sake of this document and I will be keeping the photograph in my desk with the rest of the evidence I’ve collected. 

_[Drawn in pencil in stiff lines is an eye in the center of a triangle. The points of the triangle extend outwards in three separate lines.]_

The question I now have, if this is a mark of the Chapel’s followers, is ~~why the fuck~~ what is it doing in the Daily Mail’s bathroom? 

_The Rat_

This is simply to clarify the above. A feral rodent attacked me in an alleyway after I attempted to separate it from a cat I recognised as belonging to a resident from our Employer’s building. (Said cat has now been entrusted into my care and will be found a suitable home after this case has concluded.)

My colleagues came to my aid and the entire debacle ended… poorly. 

What I found most striking about the creature was that the rodent’s insides were completely rotten. A strange disease, it’s surprising that it could move at all. 

One does hope that this is an individual case and not a sign of another impending epidemic. 

_About the Previous Tenants: The Macarios_

Vittorio and Gabriella Macario have been patients at the Central London’s Sanitorium since 1918. The two were forcibly removed from their home after a complaint was made about their behaviour by their neighbour, Mr. Duly. 

Most notably the family ~~attended~~ visited the Chapel of Contemplation regularly before they were institutionalised. Despite the Church's closure being recorded in 1912. 

  * Perhaps this is linked to Michael Thomas’s escape from prison the year before they moved into the building? 



We interviewed the couple in the late afternoon on the 9th August. 

Vittorio Macario:  is easily distracted and almost childlike in his mannerisms but was able to provide some useful information about his family’s stay in the Corbitt House. According to him, it was his wife’s suggestion that they attend the Chapel of Contemplation although he suspected that someone else had recommended it to her as it was not the closest church in the area. 

He does not remember his children in fact, the very idea of having children with Mrs. Macario was met with a simple _“ew”_. 

Mr. Macario claims that ‘the Rat is an omen’. He looked intensely into Mr. Blade’s eyes as he claimed this. (Personal note: I cannot tell whether or not my colleague is simply an eccentric or whether the rodent’s death shook him deeply enough to take such a statement seriously.)

To get Mr. Macario’s statement I promised the man I’d return with a large bag of jam doughnuts for his time and information but after discussing matters with the sanatorium's staff I have been informed that he cannot be given said food whilst he is on his current medication. While I regret going back on our deal, it is unlikely that we will ever meet again and even less likely that he’ll remember it, given his current state of mind. 

Gabriella Macario:  appears to be more aware of herself and was able to focus on holding a conversation with us but her memory is full of holes. When questioned about the Chapel she said she could remember walking to the building but nothing about being inside. 

Mrs. Macario claimed that there was a man, a stranger, living in the house with them. She said she left the Corbitt House because she didn’t like living with ‘him’. According to Mrs. Macario’s statement there were times when she’d wake in the night only to see the stranger looming over her. 

She does remember her children but is not distressed by their separation. 

* * *

_Update:_ Upon investigating the property we found the couples’ diaries. 

_Vittorio Macario’s Diary:_

While the man’s handwriting remains consistent throughout the journal at the halfway point he begins to ramble on about ‘the rats’ and does not stop until the last page where he mentions that Gabriella; his wife, keeps taking them to the Chapel of Contemplation. 

In the first half of his journal he states that his sons went missing for two hours and were eventually found near the back of the church. The two looked pale but other than that said they couldn’t remember what had happened. 

_Gabriella Macario’s Diary:_

Her handwriting changes gradually over time becoming frantic and near illegible. In her journal she wrote about how every time she goes to bed there’s a shadow with burning eyes. Fittingly, she seems to have engraved a ‘Burning Eye’ into the book too. 

Explaining her calm behaviour when speaking about her children, she wrote about how she wanted to send them away, afraid for their safety and explicitly stating that she was “glad that they got away.” 

The journals indicate that the couple were telling the truth to the best of their ability. As most of these details were written before their apparent sanity slippage. 

And yet, I cannot help but think about this couple’s fate. Someone very dangerous was living in their home. Terrorizing them since their arrival. Perhaps they could have been saved, if Mr. Duly had shown his neighbours some compassion instead of jumping at the chance to get rid of them. If the sanitorium had focused on their recovery instead of their sedation. 

If the people around them had done anything other than silence them, again and again. 

I doubt the family will ever receive justice. Corbitt is dead but their situation is no different. The damage is already done. 

Regardless of my personal feelings on this subject, I submitted both of their journals to Officer Parish. I don’t know if there’s anything he can do with them, especially now that the source of the pain is nothing but dust, but perhaps if he is able to reopen Michael Thomas’s case they will receive the recognition they deserve. 

Somehow, I doubt it’ll bring them any comfort. 


	6. 12/08/21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case One: Corbitt House

12/08/21

I did some more research this week to try and find an explanation for what I saw in the Corbitt House. The results were… quite lacklustre I’m afraid. The closest things I could find to what we experienced were fanciful concepts such as Homo-Necrosis and Telekinesis. Although I’m honestly not sure what I expected, given the unusual nature of the encounter. 

It is a rather unsatisfying conclusion to this whole ordeal, I’ll admit. 

On the other hand, I was, thankfully, able to find a suitable home for Garth. Apparently, Maggie’s uncle loves cats and has been looking for a new one ever since his last pet sadly passed away. I will miss the fuzzball but it’s the least I could do for him. 

More importantly, I met with Cecil today. 

I briefed him about the history of the Chapel of Contemplation and their relation to Walter Corbitt and Michael Thomas. 

Seeing as Corbitt has been legally dead for the past fifty-five years now I decided to focus more on Michael Thomas and the potential threat he poses. I showed him the Macario’s journals and told him that we found traces of someone living in a secret room in the basement, implying that it could be connected to their runaway convict. 

I cannot tell him the whole truth of what happened that day, but I also cannot allow such a man to do as he pleases either. And if I have to lie to get the police to consider reopening his case I will. 

I submitted all of the evidence my colleagues and I collected, including copies of the timelines I had drafted. 

Well, almost all of it. I didn’t want him to see Corbitt’s third journal. Perhaps this was a mistake on my part but if I showed him that phoney witchcraft nonsense, I fear my friend may have been more skeptical about the whole scenario and given the severity of their crimes, I simply could not risk that. 

After skimming through the journals I presented to him, Cecil noticed that there was one missing and asked me if there was anything else I wanted to share with him. I told him there wasn’t, that that was all we found. And as far as my colleagues are concerned, that _is_ all we found. 

I can tell he was not fully convinced but he promised me that he would look into it and I trust him to do so. 

And that concludes my part in the investigation I suppose. I’ve done all I can. Haven’t I?

Still, I feel as if I should be doing more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes case number one, Corbitt house! I'm going to get back to editing Monthly Tangents before I start on Contemplating Frenton (Case 2 for those who aren't in the know) and I don't know how long that will take me, considering that "getting off-track" for me mean writing six chapters of an entirely seperate fic. 
> 
> Given where our game is currently, as of May 1st. I suspect I have another 40 chapters to go before I'm up to date. Although, that'll no longer be "up to date" will it? 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the fic so far! I'll be back in whenever!
> 
> (21/11/20) A quick update just to let you know I have not forgotten this fic! I'm still working on it and will upload it in chunks/phases next year. However until 2021 it is on hiatus. 
> 
> (I know, it's silly to say this now five months later but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I have a habit of writing things nonchronlogically or juggling multiple projects at once. I also seriously underestimated the scale of this fic, as as it currently stands it's at about 130 chapters, not "40 or so".) 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your patience!


End file.
